In order for the spirit of New Orleans to
live on once the
physical city ceases to exist, programs must be instituted in the
greater
Louisiana area that will promote cultural awareness. These should
include
festivals, museums, libraries, and memorials that will celebrate New
Orleans’
rich history.

The preservation program, although mainly
focused in
Louisiana, will also operate in Mississippi and Texas, where large
numbers of
displaced New Orleanians will reside. Festivals will be carried out on
a
smaller scale in cities with a large population percentage of New
Orleanians.
Museums commemorating the history and culture of the city will be
constructed
in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Lafayette. Libraries the contain
updated, solid
historical records of the city and documents regarding Hurricane
Katrina that
would be available for public perusal will also be erected in the
tri-state
area.

An analogous situation can be found in
western New
York. This land, like practically all of the United States, once
belonged
to Native Americans. Today, most places in the area are
commemoratively
named after Native American tribes and words, such as Chautauqua Lake,
West Seneca,
and Cattaraugus County. True, simply naming a place after
historical
inhabitants does not automatically recreate the original physical city,
but, at
the least, these names keep the old places alive in the minds of the
people. This can help maintain a love for the old city while
still
working toward developing a new, modern metropolis. After all,
this is
the final goal – to preserve a city’s culture while moving on to a
safer, more
efficient municipality in a new location.

One might not realize the importance of
preserving memories
of this destroyed city, but modern American society owes much to New
Orleans. In many ways, the city brings its own flavor to the
American
melting pot. Cajun- and Creole-style food, like jambalaya and
crawdads,
which originated in New Orleans, is now consumed nationwide and there
are
restaurants specially catered to these cuisines in all major U.S.
cities. With
regards to music, jazz greats Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jelly Roll
Morton,
and Fats Domino were all born and raised in New Orleans. Thanks
to their
musical efforts, America can claim jazz as its indigenous music
genre.

Music is also part of the festival culture
of New Orleans.
One of the world’s largest and most widely attended music fests, the
New
Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, will celebrate its 36th
anniversary this April. For decades, this event has been the
culmination
of all things New Orleans – local cuisine and crafts, immensely
talented
musical artists, and a local sense of community, vivacity, and
creativity.
Since the scale of the jazz fest grows every year, this gives incentive
for the
festival to find larger venues so that it can attract more people and
be held
closer to displaced residents, who can then keep on celebrating jazz
and New
Orleans culture in their new homes. In the future, while the
smaller New
Orleans will continue to host key celebrations such as the Jazz
Festival and
Mardi Gras, scaled-down versions of these festivals, as well as other
traditional New Orleans neighborhoods parades, will also be launched in
major
Louisiana cities, such as Baton Rouge and Shreveport.

Finally, the state of Louisiana should
establish September
as New Orleans History Month, so that students will begin each school
year with
awareness education about the city’s contribution to American history
and
culture. This plan will particularly ensure that the heritage, culture,
and
irreplaceable spirit of New Orleans are never forgotten after much of
the land
is lost to Mother Nature.

In the end, we hope to effectively safeguard
New Orleans’
culture while moving the people to places that offer environmentally
safe
living conditions.Throughout such a
process, a general awareness of the past is absolutely necessary in
ensuring a
better future.